The Eye of the Beholder

Time to refresh and renew. I’m sensing a need to draw nearer to the Lord’s heart and to disengage from the cyber world. Please pray with me for this time of sabbatical to be fruitful, that my ears and heart will be open to what my soul needs. I have some wonderful friends who will share with you here at The Stream’s Edge. May you be blessed by the messages they share.

So, please welcome Kimberly Long, my guest here today at The Stream’s Edge. She is a sweet sister with a wonderful heart.  I hope you enjoy her insights.

 

I opened the front door to our RV after showering, and as I was getting dressed, I heard a strange sound. It sounded like a dog—the size of a St. Bernard at least, lapping up something tasty. It sounded as though it was on my porch or even closer. I wondered what we had left out that he could be drinking from. I couldn't think of anything. It had not rained recently, leaving puddles, so I couldn't imagine. 

I ventured to the door and slowly peered around the front porch, fully expecting to be met with large puppy dog eyes staring back. Instead, all I found were a bunch of grackles. They are known for their loud raspy call. The Latin word, graculus means, "to cough" which describes their intruding noise. I've seen more than one person shoot up into a tree to send these loud varments on their way to another domain. If you were deaf, you might wonder why anyone would have issues with these beautiful blue-black, shiny-feathered creatures.

Isn't it funny how our perception of something can seem so real? If you would have tried to convince me I was hearing birds instead of a beast I would have stood my ground. I don't know that I would have believed you without seeing it with my own eyes. Isn't this true with other things we've discovered, as we grow older and wiser? We truly believe what we perceive. But sometimes our perception is off. It may be our perception of our self, or someone else has been distorted. There are times I've come to know someone on a deeper level and found they weren't at all what I thought at the beginning.

If we don't study God's word to find out His perception of us, then we will carry a wrong perception. For years, I believed I was weak or less because of my desire to spend a great deal of time alone. I saw in my father the same tendency but to an extreme. It ended up being a detriment to his well being, making it hard for him to stay accountable to others to stay away from alcohol. But I knew I had worked hard at keeping a balance of being around people and staying accountable to other women. I finally realized that being a loner is okay and not only okay but wonderful if this is the way God made me.

Those who are extroverts and lack understanding of their opposites have made cutting remarks to me at times. I finally learned to speak up and say out loud how I'm happy the way God made me and I like myself like I am. I know people who make these statements simply lack a whole perception and see life through the eyes of their understanding alone. When we read and study books about other personalities, we are opening up our understanding to go beyond a limited perception, which is beneficial to all our relationships.

Do you think desert land with cactus is attractive? It's certainly not my idea of beauty, but some think it is. I can't spit at the feet of those who think so without offending, so I need to be open in these areas as long as it doesn't compromise my convictions. I love lush oasis settings full of trees and hills. So I guess I'll continue to keep my RV right here—in the Texas Hill Country and put up with those little black lapping dogs outside my front door. Maybe some people love the sound of grackles? It's all in the eye or ear of the beholder!

 

 

Kimberly Long

Author, Speaker, Photographer

Know anyone who needs to get out from under a financial burden?

Kimberly's eBook, Financial Hope will build your faith for immediate results!

Building confidence and wholeness in women for victorious living!

For encouraging blogs and resources visit Kimberly:

http://designsofhope.com  

 

Kimberly loves to build women's confidence and bring healing from His word, so they can live a more victorious life. Gleaning from the ten years she was a single mom, Kimberly wrote her first book, “Financial Hope” to help women increase their financial faith and success.

Kimberly has served as a youth minister, worship leader, women’s minister, small group pastor and Director at Christian Women’s Job Corps. But her best training came from scrubbing the church toilets, changing other children’s diapers and finding out she was not called to sing by being allowed to lead worship services and sing a special.

She has three grown children, all married and finally producing grand babies for her!
 

 Suggested resource this week...This is a wonderful book with insights into the 23rd Psalm: